


Secrets

by Red_Lenses



Series: The Second War For Earth [1]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Confessions, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:13:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23488885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Red_Lenses/pseuds/Red_Lenses
Summary: Pearl contacts the Diamonds with a confession.
Series: The Second War For Earth [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1689916
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	Secrets

It had been half a century since any Gem had set foot within the observation base constructed upon Earth’s moon. There had been little reason to visit when for thousands of years it had been only used for one simple purpose. But finally the day had come to fulfil that purpose one last time.

The beam that lanced through space to illuminate the warp pad cast a bright glow over the massive structure, throwing deep shadows across the pitted lunar surface. When the light died down a single slender figure was left behind in its place. For a moment she simply stood there, taking in the sight of the observation base as though she had not seen it countless times before.

_It’s been such a long time._

No matter how much everything else changed, the base always looked exactly the same. In the exosphere of the celestial body it was almost untouched by time, unaffected by the weathering and the invasion of nature that had worn down so many of the Gem structures on the planet itself. It was even less altered by the passing years than the Gems themselves had been.

Pearl stepped off the warp pad and onto the path that led up to the base. There was no air to carry the sound of her footsteps against the stone, nor to allow her a steadying breath as she drew slowly closer to the confrontation she was dreading.

_I’ve stalled too long. Fourteen years too long. I have to tell them…_

The door panel lit up beneath her hand and the doors slid open. Immediately the artificial atmosphere within the structure was sucked out into the vacuum of space, sending Pearl’s hair and skirt flying out wildly behind her as the force of the gusts threatened to blow her away with them. She braced herself and pushed through the rush of air, hand fumbling for the panel on the inside as soon as she was past the entrance. The doors closed at once and enveloped her in darkness and a more familiar type of silence.

Pearl’s gem began to glow, projecting a beam of light to illuminate the walls around her. It followed the direction of her gaze as she glanced around, searching for any signs of other Gems. Clearly nobody had been here since her last visit.

Her light fell upon a pink figure upon the wall. Pearl found herself walking closer subconsciously, tears prickling the corners of her eyes as she panned the beam upward to shine over what she deemed the most important of the four murals that decorated the base’s inner walls. And there was Pink Diamond, depicted mid-leap, the small circles representing her single planet and its moon hovering above her outstretched palm. Immortalized forever on the wall of the structure that represented everything she had grown to detest.

The sight of it sent a stab of pain through Pearl’s chest, but she couldn’t tear her eyes away. Her vision blurred and a tear slid down her cheek as she pressed both hands over the insignia upon her chest. _My Diamond…_

She blinked hard and turned away, drawing a shuddering breath. It would be far too easy to stare at the mural for hours, but somebody would notice her absence if she lingered for too long. She needed to do the job she had come for and return to Earth.

The stairs rose from within the floor at her touch and she began to ascend. Step by step she was drawing ever closer to the confrontation, and yet she still had no idea of what to say. A storm of thoughts whirled through her mind, each one clamouring for her attention first. Each one was barely considered before being discarded as she climbed ever higher. This was a subject that needed to be treated with the utmost care. Especially when dealing with these particular Gems.

Her light cut out as the ceiling opened up above her into the glass-domed control room. She was beginning to tremble as she slowly crossed the floor and ascended the final staircase. Waiting for her at the top were the chair Pink Diamond had once occupied and the computer she had long ago used to plan her very first colony, before she had fallen in love with the planet she was expected to destroy.

Pearl placed a hand against the activation panel set into the chair. At once the computer’s surface lit up, ready for her commands. She reached out toward it but suddenly withdrew, fingers hovering inches from it as she reconsidered. _No. This is important._ Going through the regular channels would mean that her message would certainly be delayed, assuming it ever reached its intended targets at all. After all, she was just a Pearl. Regardless of her message’s contents it would be considered of the lowest priority.

_I have to tell them directly._

She let out a slow breath and turned toward the chair. There on the other side was the Diamond communicator Pink had always used to contact Homeworld, looking quite harmless in its inactive state. The thought of using it now caused a shiver to run up Pearl’s spine, but she knew she had little choice. It was the only way to ensure she could speak to the Diamonds face to face.

Carefully she lifted the communicator from its place. For a moment she simply held it cupped between her hands, staring at her reflection in its smooth surface as she attempted to gather her courage. It was her responsibility to do this. And was far too late to back out now, regardless of how much she wanted to simply set the object back into its slot and go home. Gritting her teeth, she quickly twisted the two halves into place and pressed her thumb against the blue side before she could lose her nerve.

The communicator emitted a blue glow in her hands as she raised it into the air before her. As it left her fingertips and hovered on its own she found herself standing up straighter. By the time the communicator had unfolded itself into a screen, she was standing attentively in a Diamond salute and waiting tensely for the call to connect.

The screen’s glow dimmed as it resolved into the image of another Pearl - one who she had seen countless times before. The blue tint of the communicator screen added a more vibrant layer of colour over her form, which Pearl knew was normally a soft powder blue. Her head was turned away initially, her focus clearly elsewhere, but she quickly faced forward and opened her mouth to give the standard greeting.

The words were lost in a sudden gasp as she recognized Pearl. “It’s you…!” Even her soft voice could not conceal her surprise at the unexpected contact. Without waiting for a reply she immediately looked away, her gaze turning upward as she sought out something that was hidden from Pearl’s view. “My Diamond…”

Pearl had so far managed to keep calm, but her composure faltered slightly as the communicator was quickly tilted upward and away away from Blue Pearl. At once Blue Diamond’s face was filling the screen, her expression initially one of astonishment at the sight of who was contacting her. A moment later she had broken into a delighted smile. “Pink’s Pearl!”

Pearl’s hands were shaking too badly to hold the salute any longer. When she let it fall Blue Diamond barely even seemed to notice. “It’s been far too long since you contacted us. How is Pink?” Her eyes drifted away from Pearl to the small sliver of the room visible beyond her, eagerly seeking out her fellow Diamond.

Pearl opened her mouth to respond but no sound came out. The screen’s image wavered and blurred in her vision as tears welled up again; she lowered her head, hoping that Blue could not read the guilt and pain that was surely clear in her eyes. But she couldn’t stop her tears from escaping and rolling down her cheeks. This time Blue definitely took notice.

“… Pearl?” It was both a question and a prompt. For all of her initial excitement, her patience would not hold out for long if her question was left unanswered. Pearl swallowed, clasping a hand against her chest again as though to hold back the pain that threatened to tear her apart, and managed to find her voice.

“There’s something I need to tell you…”

* * *

The house was silent when Pearl rematerialized on the warp pad in front of the temple door. At first she glanced around warily, almost expecting to see Steven running down the stairs to greet her, or maybe Amethyst lounging on the couch and wondering aloud where she had been. Her tense posture relaxed as she realized the place was empty. Clearly everyone was either inside the temple or out somewhere. Nobody even knew she had been gone.

She slowly released the breath that she had not even realized she was holding. The others never needed to know what she had done. It was not like this would have any effect on their lives. She clung to that thought like a life preserver, but it couldn’t completely banish the lingering feeling of guilt as she stepped off the warp pad and crossed to the front door. After the eerie stillness of the moon’s surface and the stale air of the base, maybe some fresh air would clear her head.

She was halfway out the door when a voice cut through her thoughts. “You told them.”

“Garnet!” Pearl’s fingers slipped on the door handle in alarm as her head quickly turned toward the source of the voice. Garnet was leaning back against the wall a few feet away, her arms crossed over her chest as she stared out over the beach. She must have been waiting for her, Pearl realized as the feeling of guilt intensified. There was no way to wriggle out of this without blatantly lying.

With a sigh, she closed the door behind her and crossed to the railing. “… Yes, I did. They deserved to know.”

On the beach below she could see three figures wandering across the sand; two children and a larger Gem easily identified by her rainbow hair. It could only be Bismuth playing with Steven and his human friend, Connie. The wind carried the murmur of their voices up to Pearl, though she could not make out what they were saying.

Garnet’s footsteps drowned out their voices as she crossed to Pearl’s side. “But not everything.”

Pearl slumped down to rest her arms against the rail. “No…” she responded softly. “I couldn’t tell them about him.”

Down on the beach Bismuth was straightening up from a kneeling position, both arms raised as though flexing her biceps and with one of the children sitting atop each one. The sound of their laughter brought the tiniest flicker of a smile to Pearl’s expression before it disappeared just as soon as it had come. “Who knows what they’d do to him? They could hurt him trying to get her back.” Her eyes were upon the boy in the pink shirt, who was cheering with both arms in the air as Bismuth set off at a jog across the sand. _Steven… He shouldn’t have to deal with the other Diamonds. He’s too innocent and sweet. He couldn’t handle them._

“I don’t think I could stand losing him too.”

Garnet’s only response was to rest a hand against her shoulder as they stood together, watching the trio disappear around the edge of the cliff toward the town. As much as she wanted to reassure Pearl, both of them knew that her confession had put all of them - including Steven - in danger. And nobody, not even Garnet, could predict what form that danger might take.

**Author's Note:**

> This story marks the opening of an AU which will be continued in the form of a series of short stories rather than chapters (purely because I work better with the freedom to write them out of order). The scene on the moon was originally written and drawn as a short comic, but I decided to recreate it in my preferred format when it went completely unnoticed and when I began to plan the AU in earnest - there was no way I could draw the entire thing. If there's any interest in seeing said comic I might add it onto the end here.
> 
> There may not be any action this time but it's coming. Oh, is it coming.


End file.
